Baggage-check



( W. W. WILGOX.

Baggage No. 230,455; Patented July 27,1830,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM W. WILOOX, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BAGGAG E-CH EC K.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 230,455, dated July 27, 1880.

' Application filed March 5, 1880. (Model.)

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM IV. WILCOX,

of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of.

Heretofore checks adapted for the abovereferred-to purpose have consisted of a single brass plate having the roads indicated upon it and attached to a strap .for securin it to the baggage, said strap having strun upon it a card of pasteboard with the name f the station written upon it, such card being ally termed the destination card. This cla s of checks, owing to the exposed position and frailty of their destination-cards and the annoyance experienced in consequence of their frequent mutilation and detachment, are used to a very limited extent. Others consist of a single brass plate with flanges embracing the destination-card, the detachment of which is prevented by passing the strap through a slot in one end of both plate and card, while in other devices the card is held and exposed between two brass plates, one of which is bent at its ends and the other slotted to receive such ends said plates being held together by the strap passingthrough the bent ends or by a latch pivoted upon the slotted plate.

In all three of the devices last mentioned, should the plates be bent, which frequently happens, great difficulty is experienced, not only in detaching the card but in restoring the plates to their original shape for further use, and in some cases the plates are entirelyruined. Furthermore, these checks are not adapted for checking both ways upon the same or differ ent roads 5 but once having reached their destination, or the end of the road or roads, they must be returned without baggage to the place from whence they started.

The object of my invention is to produce a baggage-check substantially indestructible, which is easily put together and adapted for checking baggage either way over two or more roads, and from and to any station upon one or more of the roads indicated upon the plates. In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of reference indicate the same parts, Figure l is a view of the obverse face of a check embodying my invention with the straps attached; Fig. 2, a view of the reverse face of the same.

A represents a flat brass plate provided near its lower end with a rectangular opening, through which is exposed a portion of a (lestination-card, B, corresponding in size to the plate. Between the opening and the upper end of the plate, and'on the face thereof, are stamped, or produced by other suitable means,

letters indicating one or more different railroads, between which and the opening is the number of the check.

O is a similar plate, having the opening and the order of the lettering and number in reverse order-that is to say, the opening near the top and the lettering near the bottom, with the order of the words reversed and the number over the lettering.

Both of these plates and the destinationcard are provided near each of the ends with slots to receive a strap, D, slitted at each end in the usual manner, to which they are attached at one end by the ordinary slip-noose. The free end of the strap is then passed through the slots in the other end of the plates and card, thus looking all three closely together and exposing the entire face of the plates and the card through its opening, the face of the other plate, and also its opening, being concealed behind the strap, which is then attached to the baggage with the exposed plate outward, the card being protected between the two plates and having the name of the destination-station written upon it.

The letters upon the. plates for indicating each of the two roads at opposite ends of the at the beginning of the route is indicated at 5 the top of the column in small letters, and the road at the terminus next below in largeletters, (the intermediate road or roads,if any. are in small letters below the latter,) while on plate 0 the first-mentioned two roads are reversed IOO as to each other, both in position and size of letters, the intermediate roads maintaining their size ot'letters and position at the foot of the column, as on plate A.

With this arrangement and contrast in size of letters it will be seen that by shifting the free end of the strap from one face to the other of the plates the name of the road at the end of the route may be made conspicuous, so as to be read at first glance, and the checks be used with equal facility toward or from either end of the route; and as the slots for the card are at opposite ends of the check when in use, it will also be seen that by turning it over, after using the two first exposed faces, two clean ones will be presented, thus adapting the card to be used for four trips before having to replace it with a new one, and thereby eft'ectin g indented when in use they may be readily and quickly restored to their original shape by pressure or hammering with an ordinary hammer upon any smooth surface. They afi'ord an effective protector to the destination-card, and are readily put together or taken apart, no fastening; being required except that of an ordinary strap, by which they are attached to baggage.

What I claim is-- In a baggage-check, the combination, with two fiat plates having upon their faces the number of the check and letters indicating the roads over which it is used, and provided near their opposite ends with openings, of an intermediate destination-card exposed through said openings, said plates and cards being detachably and reversibly connected together by a strap passing through corresponding slots in the plates and cards, substantially as described and shown.

WILLIAM VVILCOX.

Witnesses:

EPHRAIM BANNING, HORATIO ANDERSON. 

